Technical Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to wheelchairs and walkers, and more particularly to a dynamic seating and walking wheelchair with an active seat with powerlift to stand which, in addition to functioning as a standard wheelchair, further assists the user to come to a standing position, and stabilizes the user while standing and walking.
Description of the Related Art
Within the United States approximately five percent of the population over the age of sixty-five uses some sort of assistive device for their primary mode of transportation (manual propelled wheelchairs, electric power wheelchairs, motorized scooters, walkers/rollators, etc.). With the growth in the aging population the demand for assisted walking devices is expected to grow and as the population ages and the average life expectancy increases the need for devices that assist walking as compared to replace walking will grow in demand. The need will be facilitated not only by a degradation of the ability to walk (e.g., due to muscular skeletal degeneration) but by surgical intervention associated with age (e.g., hip and knee replacement).
Traditional walking assist devices do not adequately address a transitional phase where an individual can walk some of the time but needs the ability to transition into a sitting position. Neither do they address the ability of a user to stand intermediately or the need for assisted devices during rehabilitation. Persons sitting for long periods of time may suffer from a wide range of physical issues (discomforts, poor postural, lack of stability, difficulties with breathing, incontinence, pressure ulcers and other skin disorders). However, research indicates that people confined to a wheelchair may also be susceptible to physiological complications associated when unable to perform certain tasks unassisted and the inability to be in a standing position when interacting with other individuals.
Various devices have been investigated to assist in transitioning a person to a standing position. For example, devices that raise the person within a seated position to the height of a standing person and walkers that attached to a wheelchair allowing the person to pull themselves into a standing position are marketed. These devices do not facilitate walking where possible, and often place the individual's body in an unnatural position which can lead to not using the devices and further physical complications. For example, an important function during rehabilitation requires that the person be able to hold their body weight and provide sufficient stress on the muscular skeletal system to facilitate healing of fractured bones and joint revision surgery.
The physical and psychological benefits of wheelchairs which bring the user to a standing position have long been recognized. A person who remains seated all of the time may suffer a broad range of complications and discomforts, including skin breakdown, problems with postural stability, difficulties with breathing and swallowing, incontinence, impaired sensation, and pressure ulcers. These different conditions of use create a need for a device able to provide support during walking, and provide the user with the functionality of a traditional wheelchair and the ability to easily transition between the assisted walking and/or standing versus seated position.
A variety of different devices have been proposed for relieving these problems by raising a wheelchair user from a seated position to a standing position, or assisting a wheelchair user to maintain a standing position or ambulate with his or her legs. In this regard, two general types of devices are known. The first types of device are wheelchairs which raise the user to a standing position. The second types of device are walkers which attach to a wheelchair or used in conjunction with a wheelchair.
The first type of device raises the wheelchair user to a standing position, but retains the user's feet secured to the footrests or other parts of the wheelchair. Examples of this type of device are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,319; 4,067,249; 4,598,944; 5,096,008; 5,366,036; and 5,772,226. While in the standing position in this type of device, the device is generally not propelled by the user's feet, but instead by other means such as a second person, by the user's arms, or by a self-contained motor. While many of these devices combine the features of a general purpose wheelchair with a “stand-up” mechanism, the geometry of these devices places the users' body in a position which is not naturally balanced for standing or appropriate for use as a walker.
The second type of device functions as a walker, allowing a wheelchair user not only to stand, but also to ambulate using his or her own feet to propel the device. Examples of this type of device are found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,596,055; 3,023,048; 3,398,974; 3,999,778; and 4,948,156. There are known physical benefits in assisting a person to a standing position where the person's own skeletal structure provides the support. Such benefits include improved bowel and bladder regularity, strengthening of the cardiovascular system, reduction of edema in lower extremities, assisting the lungs in staying clear, improved digestive metabolic process, lessening of muscle spasms and contractions, stretching of tendons and ligaments in lower extremities, and reducing calcium loss in bones.
The known walker type of devices generally discloses an attachment to be used in conjunction with a standard wheelchair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,3998,974 describes a walker attachment which enables the patient to stand up and walk in front of the wheelchair. However, few of the walker devices include a self-contained mechanism for assisting the user in coming to a standing position. One of the few devices which does include such a mechanism is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,156, in which the disclosed transportable frame which can be attached to a wheelchair includes a hand-operated winch mechanism. The user operates the winch to activate a seat harness which pulls the user into a standing position. Another disadvantage of this type of device is that the known walker attachments are generally bulky, not easily stored, increase the total weight of the wheelchair, and constitute yet even further equipment with which a handicapped person is surrounded by and isolated within.
The instant disclosure recognizes the need for a dynamic wheelchair which functions both as a wheelchair and as a stander and walker, which is space-efficient, and which brings the user to a standing position with little effort. The instant disclosure also recognizes the further need for a dynamic wheelchair which enables its user to make postural adjustments, i.e., dynamic seating, to allow the user relief from the discomfort and chronic pain associated with sitting in a single static position.
One solution to such problems was described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,681 to a dynamic seating and walking wheelchair. This wheelchair is designed to function as a conventional wheelchair that converts into a walker by raising the user to a standing position from a seated position. The seat carriage is slideably attached to vertical support members such that the seat carriage may be slid and positioned from a lower position to an upper position and from the upper position to the lower position. As the seat carriage is raised straight up, the seat swings from a generally horizontal first position to a generally vertical second position. As the seat carriage is lowered straight down, the seat swings from the second position to the first position.
One problem that has been discovered with the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,681 is that the seat raises straight up vertically and lowers straight down vertically (best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7). This straight up and down movement does not provide for a natural standing progression and/or sitting progression. In addition, this straight up and down movement does not provide any additional gait area for utilizing the device as a walker. Another problem is that the seat swings down forcing the user to basically stand on their own, i.e. with minimal or no assistance from the seat. Similarly, the same difficulty has been discovered when users have to sit, as the seat does not provide enough support as it swings up forcing the user to basically sit down on their own, i.e. with minimal or no assistance from the seat.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a recognizable unmet need for an improved dynamic seating and walking wheelchair that not only functions as a standard wheelchair, but further assists the user to come to a standing position in a natural progression, and stabilizes the user while standing and walking in a created gait area. The instant disclosure is designed to address at least some of the above mentioned problems by providing a dynamic seating and walking wheelchair with an active seat with powerlift to stand. As such, the instant disclosure may be directed to an improved dynamic seating and walking wheelchair, or a dynamic wheelchair with an active seat with powerlift to stand that provides assistance to the user as they stand and/or sit and that creates a gait area for walking.